Welcome to Our Blog! Our Story Starts Below...

Welcome to our blog! We set this up as an information hub about the progress of our little twin boys who were born on January 5, 2010. We along with our little boys first thank you so much for your love and support, and hope that this blog will give you an opportunity to follow their progress as they grow in the NICU at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton.

Our little boys had a harrowing journey to get here. They were born at 25 weeks and 6 days, which is needless to say, very early. Jared William, was born at 10:49 a.m. feet first, and on the bathroom floor of the delivery room. Anthony Michael was born at 11:30 via C-section after he decided that he wanted to come out hands first.

Our story started on Monday, January 4 after a doctor's appointment with Dr. Gray. Danielle had been feeling generally, "crappy" the day before and reported what sounded like some contractions. The doctor decided to send us across the street to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. After a couple of hours in labor and delivery the staff confirmed a few contractions, but very far apart. Her cervix was not dilated and the babies were fine.

The doctor sent us home and told us to keep track of the contractions, and so long as they weren't less than 7 minutes apart there was no need for concern. The next morning Danielle started feeling contractions again, but this time they were about five minutes apart. She called the doctor who said to wait another hour and see if they went away.

I was just getting ready to walk out the door to work when Danielle had a contraction that just about doubled her over. Deciding something wasn't right, I called the doctor and said we were coming to the hospital.

On our way to the hospital Danielle was having severe pains in her lower back every three minutes. When we arrived at the hospital Danielle was hooked up to the machines which registered no contractions at all. The doctors and nurses did not think her pains were contractions but constipation. After several attempts to alleviate that Danielle went into the bathroom still having severe lower back pain.

After a minute, I heard a scream, and Danielle was screaming that her babies were coming out. The nurses came rushing, as did the doctor, but Jared was too impatient to wait. He was born on the bathroom floor. After Danielle was moved to the bed, Anthony wasn't so cooperative and an emergency C-section was performed.

The NICU unit was quick to respond and help the teenie little babies breathe and fight for life. Jared was 2lbs. 1oz. and was 13 and 1/2 inches long. Anthony was 1lb. 15oz. and was 13 inches long.

The whole thing was totally unexpected, and frankly more traumatic than happy. But we are blessed with two gorgeous little miracle babies!

Our boys came home to us on March 26, 2010, after spending 81 days or about 12 weeks in the NICU at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. As you may note from our previous posts below, the journey was not without its bumps in the road.

There were highs, and there were lows. We and the boys braved two laser eye surgeries, and countless other obstacles and scares. But, we never lost confidence in the medical team in the NICU, and always kept our faith that God would lead us through this time.

Our steadfastness paid off, because now the boys are happy and healthy at home! This of course brings with it a totally new set of challenges that we are exicted and eager to experience. The task of caring for twin newborns is a daunting one, but a welcome one.

So, just because the boys are now home, don't think the blogging will stop. It may not be as consistent as before, but we will do our best to keep you all updated on their progress, and give you a window into our lives raising twin boys.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Jared to Have Eye Surgery Today at 5p.m.

Anthony (left) and Jared (right) Snuggling in their Crib

Anthony's Hand Matching up with Daddy's

Momma Feeding Jared

Yesterday we learned that Jared's ROP has progressed to Stage 2 "plus" indicating a significant chance that without correction his vision will be drastically impaired. If not corrected the liklihood of blindness is great or almost certain. As such, the eye doctor recommended that he have laser-eye surgery today.

The surgery in and of itself is not a risky procedure and, as far as success rates go, it is almost a certainty that the ROP will be stopped and Jared will have normal vision. The big risk is that the little guy has to undergo general anesthesia. This means he will be totally knocked out. Needless to say, Danielle and I are very anxious and nervous about this.

We spoke at length last night with Dr. Kamran who somewhat calmed our nerves. He did say the surgery is short; about an hour total. He informed us that while not ideal, putting Jared under is a somewhat low-risk thing at this point given his strength and health. We can also look for some signs in the next day or so that would indicate a setback on the progress he's made up until this point. Yet, once the drugs leave his system he should be back to normal.

I asked Dr. Kamran directly if in his opinion he thought Jared could not tolerate the surgery would he recommend the procedure, and Dr. Kamran told us he would never recommend a procedure such as this if he weren't confident a baby could handle it. This makes us feel a little better. All of the other nurses have given us words of encouragement as well. Nurse Imelda G. last night said as far as procedures go this one is relatively routine.

She analogized like this: people make eggs everyday and the chances of getting burned badly is always there. Yet, people still make eggs everday safely without getting burned badly. This makes sense and makes us feel better that the staff isn't as worried. Yet, as with anyone, general anesthesia is always risky, even for healthy adults.

This decision was not easy for us. Knowingly placing your child in harm's way is not easy. But, not acting and letting him potentially have a horrible disability is not an option we can stomach. Because the benefits far outweigh the risks we had to agree to this surgery. We are confident that all will go well, but we need your thoughts and prayers as much as ever.

As we have said from the beginning, the NICU road is really a rollercoaster ride. We thought the train was pulling into the station, but this event is a reminder that the ride isn't over until it is over. This event is a sobering reality, and yet one more hurdle we must overcome before the boys come home.

The good news is that provided the surgery goes as planned, this will not delay the homecoming of our boys, which Dr. Kamran tells us should be within two weeks.

But, Anthony may need this procedure as well. His ROP has progressed to Stage 2, but he does not have "plus disease." The doctor will look at his eyes again next week. According to Dr. Adrian however, "If one twin needs surgery, the other likely will too." We hope he's wrong.

On the positive side, the boys have steadily gained weight over the last two weeks. Anthony is now 4lbs. 12oz. and Jared is 4lbs. 11oz. Both boys' spells have subsided considerably, and they are now nippling all of their feeds. Their temperatures have been stable and other than this eye issue, they are on the road to home.

Again, we are asking for your thoughts and prayers as Jared undergoes his procedure today. We are grateful to God for the two amazing boys He has given us, and we are grateful for all of you out there that pray for us and support us. We can't do this without all of you.